Fountain Hill Told Apartments Are Fire Hazard

A Fountain Hill resident last night told Borough Council that the house adjoining his on Seneca Street is a fire hazard and has had three fires in the last five weeks.

"It's almost like sitting on a keg of dynamite," Walter Newman of 1066 Seneca St. said of living next to a four-unit apartment building at 1068 Seneca St.

Council agreed to write one of the building's owners, Jeffrey Parks of Bethlehem, to arrange a meeting with borough officials.

The most recent fire in the house was on Jan. 3 when a blaze caused an estimated $10,000 damage to one of the apartments. Fire officials said the fire started near a baseboard electric heater.

Newman said there have been two other fires in the house during the last five weeks, one on Christmas. Borough Fire Chief James Bobal said the department received no reports about two other fires.

Newman said that the building's fire escape is "poorly maintained" and cluttered with debris and that he believes 16 people were living in the building before the last fire.

Contacted last night after the meeting, Parks said he had no comment.

Newman said he fears that a fire in the building will spread to the whole block, where many elderly people reside. He suggested that the number of apartments in the building be reduced, decreasing the number of occupants.

Councilmen said they could not change the current zoning regulations for the building but would contact Parks about making safety improvements to the house.

A fire company spokesman said Parks is being cited for a fire in the building in November.

In other business, council approved allowing Salisbury Township to pump its sewage into the Bethlehem disposal system through borough sewer lines. Councilman Robert Barnes said the final agreement, however, hinges on negotiations between township and borough officials over the fee that Salisbury would pay for use of the lines.

The decision comes after more than a year of negotiations between Fountain Hill and Salisbury for use of the sewer lines.

Council last night reappointed Edwin Zeltzer to a three-year term on the borough zoning hearing board and Allen Koszi to another four-year term on the borough planning commission.